Indecent Folks

I put on a striking violet dress and stared at myself in the mirror. The sleeves were loose on the hem while the skirt dragged on the floor. I picked up the cinch belt to wrap on my waist before braiding my hair. My eyes landed on the small cabinet on the other side of the dressing table, and I figured it wasn't there last night. I pulled the small handle using my toes, and the cabinet revealed pairs of shoes.

"Hmm, fancy," I whispered before sitting on my heels to see everything closer. I picked a black pair of boots and laced them up. It was pretty, but the two-inch heels will surely be painful to walk on. I went back to the dressing table and stared at myself. Everything will be fine soon. I just need more luck.

My hands started trembling as my memories flashed before me again. I shut my eyes and clenched my fist atop the dressing table. Get out of my head. You're all gone. You were demons, and I'm a murderer. I'll see you in Hell soon but leave me alone for now.

"Why did you kill us?"

I jolted in shock when someone whispered behind me. I turned to see who it was and saw nothing. My chest cramped so bad it took me a while to breathe. It sounded so real, and I felt its breathing on my ear. I turned to the mirror and pursed my lips as tears started filling the side of my eyes. You didn't kill because you thought it was right, Dani. Who cares if you're wrong? You're alone now. No one cares. I glanced at the ceiling and sniffed before I stood up. No one cares. The sun felt good, but being surrounded by vampires doesn't. I know that they were trying not to pry on me when I walked past them, but I still caught some eyes, especially from younger women. There were only a few of them. Which I believe might have been turned by their parents, who were the first to become vampires, or maybe it's the other way around.

I was disoriented, and the wind felt like it was blowing my mind away from here. I didn't realize that I already walked past the workshop and the infirmary, so I saw the open gate while some men loaded the wagons with trunks and baskets. "They were to be sold in the market."

I turned when someone spoke beside me, wearing an equally pretty dress. This lady was one of the girls who have been staring at me. She has this broad accent, nice pair of eyes, and lovely freckles on her cheeks. "Market?" I asked.

She nodded and smiled at me before pointing to the wagon. Sawyer suddenly appeared from the back, but he hasn't seen us yet.

"Most of them are handiworks, and some are vegetables from the greenhouse."

"What greenhouse?" I asked, looking around. The only green I've seen within these high walls were the trees behind the neighbourhoods. "That building," she said.

I turned to where she pointed her finger. It was the structure where the infirmary was situated. "Yes, it's the first place I've been."

"That side was the infirmary," she said and laid her hand on the right part of the structure. "But that side," she pointed somewhere on the left. "That was the greenhouse. Do you like to see?"

I smiled before slowly shaking my head. "I'm looking for Paige. Have you seen her?"

"What are you trying to plot this time?" Sawyer's voice interrupted us, so I turned to him. He now had a vest on, black leather gloves, and a pair of suspicious eyes.

I rolled my eyes at him and pulled the girl closer to me. "Making a friend," I replied, taking pride in that lie.

He gave me a sarcastic smile and pointed his finger at me. "Just so you are aware, your face isn't good at hiding the truth. You're now looking for Paige and not Rougan. That means whatever you need the doctor for will be used against him." I huffed and scanned him from head to toe. "Will you stop overthinking?" I blurted.

He turned to the girl beside me and frowned at her. "Stop leading her to the greenhouse. She cannot help you," he said before leaving.

I turned to the girl who was biting her lip, looking as guilty as she could. "Help you with what?"

She caressed her nape and smiled at me. "I'm actually..." She stopped mid-sentence when she saw someone behind me. "It's Paige," she whispered.

Paige held a bucket as she appeared from behind the neighbourhood. I turned to the girl and smiled at her. "I'll get back to you later. What's your name?"

"Lauren. Lauren Clarke," she replied.

"Later, then, Lauren," I said and walked away. Paige entered the greenhouse. Glass made the front walls, so I got to see the plants and vegetables inside. The doctor headed to a table near the glass wall and noticed my presence right away. Without a second thought, I entered the door and looked around. It smelled nice inside, and the sunlight passing through the glass ceiling shone brightly on the place.

"What can I do for you, Lady Jones?" she asked. The last words were mocking.

"Trust me, it sounds just as awful to my ears," I replied, looking at the sprouts on the ground.

"What do you need? I saw you and Sawyer bantering outside."

"Did you hear us? How far does a vampire's hearing go?" I asked, curious enough to look at her this time.

"You didn't ask Rougan of things like that? You've been with him since midnight. He's very fond of you."

I frowned, shivering at the thought. "Being desired by a vampire is the last thing I'd want."

"Do you have a choice, though?"

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Her questions reminded me of why I came to her. "Actually, I do," I smirked at her and walked up to the table where I found some jars and herbs. I bit my lower lip and stared at her while she ground leaves on the mortar. "I need you to make a potion."

Her shoulders dropped as she glanced at me like she just heard the silliest thing on Earth. "What makes you think I'd help you?"

"Because you're a good person?"

"I'm a vampire."

"Does that make you a bad person?"

"That makes me not a person," she pointed out.

A sigh escaped my lips while I rolled my eyes. "Look, you can't compel me because I drank a Reisin when I was a kid. But my mother kept this little jar before, and my sister told me that it's a potion to wear off the effect of the Reisin." She lifted her head and stared at the glass wall as she sighed. "I've seen your records. I know your mother was a botanist before she succumbed to kidney failure but let me tell you, that potion might have been what killed her." My heart twinged when she spoke of my mother. "What do you mean?"

"That potion requires a certain amount of lead. I don't know why your mother tried to make that. It's nonsense to take away your compelling immunity, but surely, she tried ingesting it herself. Lead destroys the kidney and the brain. It's toxic." I fiddled with the fabric of my dress and leaned against the edge of the table. "Does that mean that my mother might have died making that potion? What would she need that for?"

Paige sighed audibly before staring at the table. "There was this king from a kingdom in the North. He drank a Reisin, too, so he couldn't be compelled. Then his wife died, and he couldn't handle the grief. He mourned terribly. The only way he thought of was to have a vampire compel him to forget, but the Reisin in his system made that already impossible. So the palace called on every herbalist and botanist to make the Sapper, the counter-compelling potion. They called it like that because it's supposed to sap the Reisin in your body."

"But you said that it has a toxic ingredient," I mumbled.

"Yes, but the palace was willing to shell out golds for just for a single dose of Sapper. There was this person who figured the ingredients, and the only problem was the lead."

We fell silent for a while as she poured the ground leaves into a jar. I tapped my fingers on the table and gazed at the jars before me. "When I was young, my mother was working at a pharmacy. She was getting paid well, so I don't understand why she would risk her health for gold," I whispered.

"In this world where you can dream of anything, glory would most likely be one of them," she replied.

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"Glory?"

"She might not need the gold, but maybe just like some of the aspirants that I've met, she wanted glorification. Making the Sapper would mean that a whole kingdom will recognize her. She will have a direct connection with a king. In this time where everyone wants power, connections are useful." From a consoling look, her face changed into a distrustful one. "That's why I can't help but think, are you like your mother?"

"I don't understand."

She smirked and looked at me from head to toe. "You're stunning even with that garbage of a uniform that you wore last night, and you just looked more attractive in this dress now. I could see where all of this is going."

I didn't get a word of what she said. She was implying something, but whatever it is, it doesn't look good. "Care to enlighten me?"

"Is there any chance that you want glory as well, Dani?" she asked.

"Who needs glory when you're a prisoner in a village of vampires?"

She smiled at me, and it's now a sweet one. "You will understand once you realize what Rougan could give to get your loyalty,” she whispered before picking up a jar and walking away.

I was left confused as I turned to the table and stared at the herbs. We need to find out how to make lead safe or replace it with a new ingredient.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

I was yet again surprised by someone speaking out of nowhere. Why were these vampires so used to unexpectedly showing up? Rougan hid his arms behind him as he watched me get used to his presence. "What do you want?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow, restraining his smile before he raised his left hand, revealing a stalk of a red rose. "Maybe this will ease your displeasure," he whispered.

I frowned at him. Why is he acting like this? He's too sweet for someone as beefy as him, and I don't buy it. We don't have anything to talk about, so I just walked away. He gently caught my arm, causing me to jolt when his cold palm touched my skin. "I'm going to Midplains," he slid his hand down to my wrist, sending me unfamiliar yet pleasant shivers. "If you need anything, find any of the handmaids around. If a vamp was mean to you, just tell me."

Despite the arousing sensation of his hand on my skin, I raised an eyebrow and clenched my jaw. "Really? A vampire leader was mean to me since I met him. What are you going to do about that?"

He blinked. His eyes were oddly patient like he miraculously got immune to my banters. "I apologize on his behalf. Please know that he's sorry," he apologized indeed.

I sighed and took the flower from him before pulling my arms away. "I want Paige to make me the Sapper. It's a potion that can wear off the Reisin. If we're successful, any of you could just compel me to forget about this village and its secrets. If you're truly sorry, you will support me on this." That sounded ridiculous, but I have no choice. I was at his mercy, so I couldn't afford to be his foe.

I wasn't sure what I saw, but his eyes displayed a hint of both sadness and disappointment. "Alright," he agreed. "You can exhaust all your means to make the Sapper. If you need tools or anything outside the village, just tell me." Even his voice exuded a hint of defeat.

I nodded and finally walked away as Paige's voice echoed in my head. "You will understand once you realize what Rougan could give to get your loyalty." Anything for my loyalty. Was that why he agreed? But for what?